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The Common ToneWhere the Sacred and the Profane Share the Same Cup
The Common Tone · Visual Language of Music

Tie

also called: tied notes · bind

A curved line joining two notes of the same pitch into one unbroken sound.

What you do

Play the first note and hold it through the second — do not restrike. The two written notes add up to a single duration; the tie exists so that duration can cross a barline or be written in readable pieces.

In context

Tie — example Two engraved measures. A half note at the end of the first measure is joined by a curved tie, across the barline, to a quarter note of the same pitch at the start of the second. Engraved by Verovio 6.2.1-8d42439
The curved line joins two written notes of the same pitch across the barline into one unbroken sound: strike the half note, hold through the quarter — do not restrike.

Don’t confuse with

slur
A tie merges two written notes of the SAME pitch into one sustained duration — the second note is never restruck. A slur groups distinct note events into one connected gesture — usually different pitches, though it can include repeated ones. Same curve, different job — the tie fuses two notes into a single sound; under a slur each note remains its own event.

See also

slur · augmentation-dot

For specialists

Record status: draft — verification pending (bookshelf locators + chord-symbol authority; OQ-1 blocks the slice gate)